Tarun Saxena | Scholars@Duke

Tarun Saxena
Clinical Trials Project Leader II

Tarun Saxena is an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Duke University. Prior to this, Tarun was a Research Engineer at the Georgia Institute of Technology where he focused on elucidating failure mechanisms of brain-machine interfaces. Tarun completed his Ph.D. and Master’s degrees at Syracuse University and his undergraduate studies in Biomedical Engineering at Osmania University, India. Tarun is passionate about understanding the workings of the nervous and immune systems, and his research interests lie in the area of neurological trauma, ranging from developing a basic understanding of regenerative failure to design and implementation of therapeutic strategies with a focus to treat spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries. More recently, he has focused on bioengineering strategies to contain and halt metastatic brain tumors. He has collaborated actively with researchers in several other disciplines. Tarun has served as a peer reviewer for various journals, conferences, and grant review panels and has had his work and commentary published in journals such as ACS Nano, Biomaterials and, Nature Materials. Tarun enjoys being active, playing and watching cricket and tennis, hiking, reading books, and enjoying good food and drinks.

Current Research Interests

Neural Engineering
Immunomodulation
Wound Healing
Brain-machine interfacing
Biomaterials

Current Appointments & Affiliations

Clinical Trials Project Leader II, Duke Clinical & Translational Science Institute, School of Medicine

Contact Information

701 W Main St, Suite 500, Durham, NC 27701
tarun.saxena@duke.edu +1 919 684 7584

Background
Previous Appointments & Affiliations
- Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Pratt School of Engineering 2016 - 2017
Expertise
Subject Headings
Global Scholarship
- Expertise
  - India (Country)
  - United States of America (Country)
- Research
Research
Selected Grants
- Development of a Fixed Force Applanation Tonometer awarded by North Carolina Biotechnology Center 2022 - 2023
- An Elastomeric Composite Hernia Mesh, Termed Safe Mesh, to Prevent Post-Operative Adhesions awarded by North Carolina Biotechnology Center 2021 - 2022
Publications & Artistic Works
Selected Publications
- Academic Articles
  - Motz, Cara T., Victoria Kabat, Tarun Saxena, Ravi V. Bellamkonda, and Cheng Zhu. “Neuromechanobiology: An Expanding Field Driven by the Force of Greater Focus.” Advanced Healthcare Materials 10, no. 19 (October 2021): e2100102. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.202100102.
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  - Saxena, Tarun, Johnathan G. Lyon, S Balakrishna Pai, Daniel Pare, Jessica Amero, Lohitash Karumbaiah, Sheridan L. Carroll, Eric Gaupp, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “Engineering Controlled Peritumoral Inflammation to Constrain Brain Tumor Growth.” Advanced Healthcare Materials 8, no. 4 (February 2019): e1801076. https://doi.org/10.1002/adhm.201801076.
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  - Krucoff, Max O., Jonathan P. Miller, Tarun Saxena, Ravi Bellamkonda, Shervin Rahimpour, Stephen C. Harward, Shivanand P. Lad, and Dennis A. Turner. “Toward Functional Restoration of the Central Nervous System: A Review of Translational Neuroscience Principles.” Neurosurgery 84, no. 1 (January 1, 2019): 30–40. https://doi.org/10.1093/neuros/nyy128.
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  - Falcone, Jessica D., Sheridan L. Carroll, Tarun Saxena, Dev Mandavia, Alexus Clark, Varun Yarabarla, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “Correlation of mRNA Expression and Signal Variability in Chronic Intracortical Electrodes.” Frontiers in Bioengineering and Biotechnology 6 (January 2018): 26. https://doi.org/10.3389/fbioe.2018.00026.
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  - Enam, Syed Faaiz, Jack R. Krieger, Tarun Saxena, Brian E. Watts, Claire E. Olingy, Edward A. Botchwey, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “Enrichment of endogenous fractalkine and anti-inflammatory cells via aptamer-functionalized hydrogels.” Biomaterials 142 (October 2017): 52–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2017.07.013.
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  - Patel, Yogi A., Tarun Saxena, Ravi V. Bellamkonda, and Robert J. Butera. “Corrigendum: Kilohertz frequency nerve block enhances anti-inflammatory effects of vagus nerve stimulation.” Scientific Reports 7 (June 2017): 46848. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep46848.
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  - Lyon, J. G., N. Mokarram, T. Saxena, S. L. Carroll, and R. V. Bellamkonda. “Engineering challenges for brain tumor immunotherapy.” Advanced Drug Delivery Reviews 114 (2017): 19–32.
  - Patel, Yogi A., Tarun Saxena, Ravi V. Bellamkonda, and Robert J. Butera. “Kilohertz frequency nerve block enhances anti-inflammatory effects of vagus nerve stimulation.” Scientific Reports 7 (January 2017): 39810. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep39810.
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  - Karumbaiah, Lohitash, Syed Faaiz Enam, Ashley C. Brown, Tarun Saxena, Martha I. Betancur, Thomas H. Barker, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “Chondroitin Sulfate Glycosaminoglycan Hydrogels Create Endogenous Niches for Neural Stem Cells.” Bioconjugate Chemistry 26, no. 12 (December 2015): 2336–49. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.5b00397.
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  - Saxena, Tarun, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “Implantable electronics: A sensor web for neurons.” Nature Materials 14, no. 12 (December 2015): 1190–91. https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4454.
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  - Saxena, Tarun, Kristin H. Loomis, S Balakrishna Pai, Lohitash Karumbaiah, Eric Gaupp, Ketki Patil, Radhika Patkar, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “Nanocarrier-mediated inhibition of macrophage migration inhibitory factor attenuates secondary injury after spinal cord injury.” Acs Nano 9, no. 2 (February 2015): 1492–1505. https://doi.org/10.1021/nn505980z.
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  - Gunasekera, Bhagya, Tarun Saxena, Ravi Bellamkonda, and Lohitash Karumbaiah. “Intracortical recording interfaces: current challenges to chronic recording function.” Acs Chemical Neuroscience 6, no. 1 (January 2015): 68–83. https://doi.org/10.1021/cn5002864.
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  - Shen, Wen, Lohitash Karumbaiah, Xi Liu, Tarun Saxena, Shuodan Chen, Radhika Patkar, Ravi V. Bellamkonda, and Mark G. Allen. “Extracellular matrix-based intracortical microelectrodes: Toward a microfabricated neural interface based on natural materials.” Microsystems & Nanoengineering 1, no. 1 (January 2015): 15010. https://doi.org/10.1038/micronano.2015.10.
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  - Karumbaiah, Lohitash, Tarun Saxena, Martha Betancur, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “Chondroitin sulfate glycosaminoglycans for CNS homeostasis-implications for material design.” Current Medicinal Chemistry 21, no. 37 (January 2014): 4257–81. https://doi.org/10.2174/0929867321666140815124447.
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  - Saxena, Tarun, Lohitash Karumbaiah, Eric A. Gaupp, Radhika Patkar, Ketki Patil, Martha Betancur, Garrett B. Stanley, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “The impact of chronic blood-brain barrier breach on intracortical electrode function.” Biomaterials 34, no. 20 (July 2013): 4703–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2013.03.007.
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  - Karumbaiah, Lohitash, Tarun Saxena, David Carlson, Ketki Patil, Radhika Patkar, Eric A. Gaupp, Martha Betancur, Garrett B. Stanley, Lawrence Carin, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “Relationship between intracortical electrode design and chronic recording function.” Biomaterials 34 (2013): 8061–74.
  - Karumbaiah, Lohitash, Sharon E. Norman, Nithish B. Rajan, Sanjay Anand, Tarun Saxena, Martha Betancur, Radhika Patkar, and Ravi V. Bellamkonda. “The upregulation of specific interleukin (IL) receptor antagonists and paradoxical enhancement of neuronal apoptosis due to electrode induced strain and brain micromotion.” Biomaterials 33, no. 26 (September 2012): 5983–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biomaterials.2012.05.021.
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- Conference Papers
  - Archer-Hartmann, Stephanie, Mayumi Ishihara, Christian Heiss, Guerard Byrne, Christopher McGregor, Farooqahmed Kittur, Jiahua Xie, et al. “Strategies for Glycomics and Glycosaminoglycan Analysis as part of Analytical Services at the Complex Carbohydrate Research Center.” In Glycobiology, 23:1350–51. OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC, 2013.
    Link to Item

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Previous Appointments & Affiliations

Subject Headings

Global Scholarship

Expertise

Research

Selected Grants

Selected Publications

Academic Articles

Conference Papers